NICE to recommend rituximab for leukaemia

5th March 2010

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has issued final draft guidance recommending the drug rituximab (MabThera) as a treatment for certain patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

The draft guidance recommends rituximab, in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide, for the treatment of what is the most common form of leukaemia in the UK, except when the condition has not previously responded to fludarabine or has relapsed within six months of treatment, or has previously been treated with rituximab.